Description
This is a sparkling little book! The Church needed to get something on the Articles of Religion that would be simple enough, and winsome enough, that people would want to read it. Something both individuals and congregations would find full of joy and wisdom because of the wonderful way the Articles of Religion describe our faith and hope.
This tour of the 39 Articles focuses entirely on the central teaching of each Article and some suggested ways the Article applies to our life in Christ, both as individual believers and as congregations. Offered here is a brilliant condensation of the author’s acclaimed 735-page Commentary on the Articles Essential Truths for Christians, also available at this site.
One of the fundamentals of the Articles is that nothing can be accepted as doctrine unless it is proven in the Scriptures. So the author keeps bringing the reader back to the biblical texts on which the Articles base themselves. Questions have been included for both personal review and reflection and for group study and discussion. A prayer is included at the end of each Article, for faith is not only a matter of the mind but of the heart. Scriptures are included at the end of each Article to remind us that they draw their authority from being faithful to the Holy Scriptures.
The 39 Articles can be divided into five parts: Part One, God and the Apostolic Faith; Part Two, The Rule of Faith; Part Three, Salvation in Christ; Part Four, The Church, Sacraments, and the Ordained Ministry; and Part Five, Christianity and Civic Responsibilities.
Any who haven’t an acquaintanceship with the Articles have been missing out on the fullness of Anglicanism. We can thank God for the Articles of Religion as the doctrinal standard of present-day Anglicanism, and for the Jerusalem Declaration that affirms them so powerfully.